#RNLI - Volunteers at Kilmore Quay RNLI were called upon to go to the aid of an American yacht with three people on board in the early hours of Wednesday 17 December.

The 42-foot yacht, which was on passage from Falmouth in the UK to Crosshaven in Cork, was experiencing difficult conditions.

The crew encountered some damage to their rigging, being forced to alter course and run before the southwest wind that was blowing at Force 6.

The yacht was 12 miles to the south of Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford at 11pm when its crew put in a call to the Irish Coast Guard for help.

Kilmore Quay’s all-weather lifeboat Killarney left the harbour at 11.15pm and was alongside the yacht 35 minutes later.

A tow rope was passed to the yacht and its was towed back to the marina at Kilmore Quay, arriving in at 2.30am.

#rnli – Clifden RNLI lifeboat crew had their first callout in their new all weather lifeboat last night (Tuesday 23 December) to bring a local GP to provide urgent and immediate medical attention to an elderly resident on Inishturk Island. The treatment means that the man will get to spend Christmas at home and not in hospital.

Earlier today, Afloat.ie reported how some 58 people on Inisturk face their first Christmas in decades without medical cover.

Clifden RNLI received their new all weather lifeboat, which is on a trial, during the Summer and the first callout was received at 6pm on Tuesday evening. Dr. Ciaran Mac Loughlin, a local GP contacted the emergency services and requested transport to a patient on the Island for urgent medical attention.

The volunteer lifeboat crew with Clifden RNLI was alerted and launched with the doctor onboard and returned to Clifden after 11pm.

Commenting on the callout Dr. Mac Loughlin said, 'The lifeboat provides an invaluable service to the community. My callout last night was to a man in need of immediate and urgent medical attention. The swift response of Clifden RNLI meant that the man did not have to be moved to hospital for treatment and is now recovering well at home.

I was very impressed with the new lifeboat and with the volunteer crew who brought me out to the island last night. We travelled there and back in complete darkness and their actions ensured that I could administer care to my patient on scene and not have to move him. I am very grateful to them for this.'

Clifden RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager John Brittain added, 'We have been eagerly awaiting the first callout for our new lifeboat, which works alongside our two inshore boats. I am pleased that its first callout had a successful outcome and that we were able to help the man from Inishturk spend Christmas at home.'

#RNLI - Portaferry RNLI has rescued a man who got caught out by the tide yesterday afternoon (Monday 22 December).

The volunteer lifeboat crew was requested to launch their inshore lifeboat at 2.24pm following a report of person in the water on Strangford Lough.

A kayaker who was in upper parts of the lough at the time raised the alarm after he saw a man waist-deep in the water.

The lifeboat launched and headed towards Rainey Island at the north end of Strangford Lough, arriving on scene at 2.50pm, and the crew began a search of the area around Rainey and Sketrick Islands.

When nothing was found, the lifeboat carried on up into Watson Island on Ardmillan Bay, where the crew located the casualty.

The man, who was a wildfowler, had set off walking to the island earlier in the morning when the tide had been out but then got caught out by the rising tide.

It was when he was attempting to return to the mainland that he was spotted by the kayaker waist deep in the water.

With the water getting deeper the man decided to return to the island for his own safety, where he was waiting when the lifeboat located him.

In what is a muddy area that can be dangerous, the Portaferry crew carefully manoeuvred in shallow water to get to the man and bring him on board the lifeboat.

The casualty, who was cold and fatigued but who didn’t require any further medical attention, was then transported to Ballydorn.

Speaking following the callout, Portaferry RNLI lifeboat operations manager Brian Baille commended the kayaker who had raised the alarm.

"The kayaker spotted the casualty, raised the alarm and then stayed with the man until the lifeboat arrived on scene and brought him to safety. Had the alarm been raised later it would have been much trickier to locate the casualty in the dark.

"We would remind anyone planning to go out on the lough to be mindful of the weather and tide times."

#rnli – The crew of the RNLI lifeboat station at Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay will hold their annual ceremony to remember the 15 volunteers that died on service in 1895 on Christmas Eve as well as all those who lost their lives around our coasts in 2014. Families are especially welcome to attend this long-standing local tradition of remembrance.

The short ceremony will take place at mid-day on Christmas Eve at the lighthouse end of Dun Laoghaire's popular East Pier and will include music, an ecumenical blessing, a contemporary newspaper account of the 1895 tragedy and a piped lament.

Both RNLI lifeboats stationed at Dun Laoghaire will launch and the crews will lay wreaths at sea close to the pier.

The ceremony is a long-standing Christmas Eve tradition that remembers the lives of the 15 volunteer crew that died when their lifeboat capsized in gale force winds while attempting to rescue those on board the SS Palme that had run aground off Blackrock, Co. Dublin. All lives lost at sea will also be included in the ceremony.

Relatives of the original 1895 lifeboat crew are expected to be amongst those who will walk the pier for the 20-minute ceremony. Musician William Byrne and journalist Fergal Keane will be joined by a lone piper on the East Pier lighthouse battery during the short ceremony that has been facilitated by the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company. In case of inclement weather, an alternative ceremony will still be held closer to the lifeboat station.

#rnli – An early morning airline alert for Kilrush RNLI lifeboat gave its new Lifeboat Operations Manager her first callout in charge.

Newly appointed Lifeboat Operations Manager (LOM) at Kilrush RNLI, Pauline Dunleavy, had her first callout in charge of the Clare lifeboat station on the Shannon Estuary, when an alert was received early this morning (14 December 2014) and the lifeboat was launched to reports that a plane flying overhead had observed an indication that a fire may have broken out in the cargo hold.

In these circumstances it is standard procedure to launch the lifeboat and it gave Pauline a chance to see how fast the lifeboat can be launched and the response of the volunteers in times of emergency. Pauline was a helm at the lifeboat station before she stood down recently to take up the role of Lifeboat Operations Manager from the outgoing one, John Lambe.

The lifeboat was launched at 9.20am and kept a presence on the river before they learned that the flight, which was en route to France, had landed safely at Shannon airport and they were stood down.

Commenting on the callout Kilrush RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Pauline Dunleavy said, 'During my first callout in this new role, it was great to see the lifeboat crew respond to an emergency from the other side. I had the opportunity to see the work the lifeboat crew do and it showed me that with their ongoing training, our volunteers are ready for anything.'

'Thankfully in this instance we were stood down and everyone was safe but it does give us an opportunity to test our responses and to be ready to launch to anything. I know this role is a hugely important one at a lifeboat station and I look forward to working with everyone involved in Kilrush RNLI.'

#rnli – Red Bay and Portrush RNLI lifeboat launched in challenging conditions this morning to aid in search for missing woman on the North Coast of Ireland.

In freezing conditions both Red Bay and Portrush RNLI lifeboat crews launched to take part in an intensive search for a missing woman in her thirties. The two lifeboats carried out a search in freezing winds and heavy swells to try and local the missing woman. The lifeboats were launched at 9.20am and joined both the PSNI and local coastguard in a huge agency search.

The lifeboat crews concentrated their search in the Ballycastle and North Antrim coast area. After three hours the woman was located inland by the PSNI and the search was stood down.

Commenting on the Sunday morning callout Red Bay RNLI helm Paddy McLaughlin said 'Conditions were challenging this morning and we are relieved that the missing woman has been found safe.

We would advise people to always tell another person where they are going and that if they are concerned for someone's welfare to make contact with the emergency services. Please also take care around the coastline as the recent weather makes conditions unpredictable.'

#RNLI - In what was a first for the RNLI Reindeer Run, there was a marriage proposal at last Sunday’s (30 November) event in Marlay Park to raise funds for Ireland's lifeboat service.

Conor Hayes, a native of Tipperary, chose the festive occasion to get down on one knee and ask girlfriend Edel Higgins from Sligo to marry him.

The couple, who met and work in Dublin, are regular runners.

"This was our first RNLI run but it definitely won't be our last," said Hayes said after a delighted Higgins said yes.

"We have no plans for the wedding yet. We are just enjoying the celebrations at the moment."

#rnli – The volunteer lifeboat crew at Newcastle RNLI got to put their new inshore lifeboat through its paces yesterday (Thursday 4 December) when it was requested to launch hours after arriving at station. The callout came at 6.04am in the morning when the coastguard requested the launch of Newcastle's newly arrived D class inshore lifeboat and all weather lifeboat, following reports that a 56 year old man was missing.

The weather was good and the sea state calm, giving both lifeboats the perfect conditions to carry out an intensive search. In the darkness the lifeboat crew used the search light and night vision to scan the coastline and the new lifeboat was able to move in close to the rocky coastline with the crew using their oars to check the depth. Thankfully the man was located safe on land and the search was stood down at 7.30am.

Following delivery of the £41,000 lifeboat, the crew checked it was operational and Search and Rescue capable before they set to sea. The new lifeboat is fitted with SIMS (Systems and Information Management System), an RNLI-developed means for the crew to control a lot of the boat's functions and has a single 50hp outboard engine. Capable of reaching speeds of up to 27 knots the lifeboat can also be righted manually by the crew in the event of a capsize. Equipment onboard includes both fitted and hand-held VHF radio, night-vision equipment, and a first aid kit including oxygen.

The D class lifeboat was first introduced into the fleet in 1963, and its design has continued to evolve. This new lifeboat for Newcastle in county Down was generously funded through a legacy from Mrs Mary Olga Illingworth in Sheffied, with the request that it be named Eliza in memory of her mother.

Commenting on the arrival of the lifeboat, Newcastle RNLI Senior Helm Richard Burgess said, 'The new lifeboat is great to handle and is a marked improvement on our outgoing one, which gave great service to Newcastle for many years. We are very impressed with the enhanced technology and the addition of AIS (Automatic Identification System) which aids the identification and location of marine vessels. It is fast, powerful and easy to manoeuvre; ideal for launching in a hurry. We are very grateful to the late Mrs Illingworth for thinking of others through this generous legacy in providing this lifesaving vessel.'

Newcastle RNLI Deputy Launching Authority Joe Leneghan added, 'We have a great crew here in Newcastle, who put so much time and commitment into their training on the lifeboat. Therefore it is only right that the RNLI provides the best in lifeboat technology and equipment for them. Saving lives at sea is always down to the lifeboat crew but by providing them with a state of the art lifeboat, which is fully kitted out in the latest in Search and Rescue technology they can locate the casualty faster and bring them home to their loved ones sooner. I wish the lifeboat crew many successful callouts in this new lifeboat and may she always carry them home safely.'

The lifeboat crew on the inshore lifeboat were Helm Richard Burgess and crew Declan Barry and Arron Latus. On the all weather lifeboat was Coxswain Richard Herron, Deputy Coxswain William Chambers, Mechanic Aidan Riley and crewmembers Peter Uprichard, William Wilson, Robert Latus and Daniel Rooney.

#RNLI - Alan Goucher and Graham Fitzgerald, volunteer crew at Wicklow Lifeboat Station, have received letters of commendation from George Rawlinson, operations director of the RNLI, for their quick actions in a rescue over the summer.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, on 2 July both Wicklow lifeboats were launched at 3.20pm and proceeded south to Silver Strand to a report of a woman in difficultly in the water at the beach, one mile south of Wicklow Head.

The Wicklow inshore lifeboat crew found it difficult to locate the casualty and following a search, with help from a member of the public on the shore, the lifeboat crew found the woman at the rear of a cave close to the beach.

Goucher entered the water and swam into the cave to assist the woman. He placed her in a lifejacket before assisting her from the cave to the waiting inshore lifeboat and the crew started to administer first aid, as she was showing signs of hypothermia.

They then transferred the casualty to the all-weather lifeboat a short distance away, which returned to the shore and was met by an ambulance.



In his letter to Goucher, Rawlinson wrote: "Your willingness to swim into the cave and use of your local knowledge to extricate the casualty safely ensured a good outcome on this rescue. I commend your commitment and professionalism.

"

The inshore lifeboat returned to the area and the volunteer crew was informed that two people who had earlier tried to assist the first casualty had injured themselves on rocks while trying to return to the beach. They also requested the all-weather lifeboat to return to the scene and the lifeboat crew began to administer first aid.

They were joined on scene by the Dublin Coast Guard helicopter, and the two people were winched on-board and taken to hospital.



In his letter to helm Fitzgerald, Rawlinson said: "During the rescue, you demonstrated calm and sound command of the incident, quickly gaining the required information and assessing the risks involved in committing your crew member to enter the water."



While returning to the inshore lifeboat, a crew member was made aware of a further person who needed assistance after they became unwell following their attempt to go to also go to the aid of the first casualty.

Due to the lack of access for an ambulance, the coxswain requested the casualty be transferred by lifeboat and was taken ashore and met by ambulance. 



In the letter of commendation to the station volunteers and crew, Rawlinson concluded: "I would like to thank everyone concerned for their teamwork, high level of competence and adaptability. Their management, assessment and diligence ensured all the casualties were recovered quickly and safely."

#rnli – The Staff of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) selected Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat as the beneficiary of the 2014 Hope You Give (HUG) charity fund paid into over the year by the staff of DLRCC.
Above, Mary Kennefick, representing HUG (pictured left), presented the donation to Mark McGibney, RNLI Coxswain with Rita O'Reilly, Honorary Secretary of the RNLI Dun Laoghaire fundraising branch and Barry Keane, Vice Chairman.